OC's slight hurts legendary commentator

NEW DELHI: "Aap hamari dil ki dhadkane tez karte hain," Indira Gandhi told Jasdev Singh, whose rousing sports commentary and vivid descriptions of no less than 47 Independence Day and Republic Day parades are part of radio and TV legend.

But while the Suresh Kalmadi-led OC found it fit to issue some 90,000 accreditations, the veteran commentator did not get a call from the organisers of the 19th Commonwealth Games. "I thought they might do me the courtesy, but obviously it was too much to expect," Jasdev told ToI.

After having covered nine Olympics, eight hockey World Cups and six Asian Games, the OC might have thought that having Jasdev in the stands would have been a fitting tribute to India's sporting traditions. A spell at the microphone at JLN stadium would have revived memories of veterans in the special stands.

Jasdev, who was honoured by the Olympic Order, the highest award of the Olympic movement, by the late Juan Antonio Samaranch -- the legendary IOC president -- feels hurt. "The country has given me a lot. This was a gesture I expected from people who are not unknown to me," he said.

The veteran commentator was close to the late Rajiv Gandhi who acknowleged his contribution in making the 1982 Asian Games a success. At a recent function, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whom Jasdev thought did not know him so well, made it a point to seek him out. "It was a pleasant surprise when the PM spoke a few words to me," he said.